1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for transporting substrates and, more particularly, to a system for transporting substrates into a clean room.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,866 discloses an automated material handling system for a manufacturing facility divided into separate fabrication areas. The automated material handling system accomplishes the containerless transfer of semiconductor wafers through a wall separating first and second fabrication areas. With the event of 300 mm sized semiconductor substrates, front opening unified pods (FOUP""s) have been introduced to transfer substrates between processes within a given fabrication facility. Similarly, front opening shipping boxes (FOSB""s) have been introduced to ship substrates between the fabrication facilities themselves. During shipping, the interior of the FOSB remains clean in order to protect the substrates while the exterior of the FOSB is contaminated due to the shipping. Accordingly, there is a desire to provide for the containerless transfer of substrates from shipping boxes, such as FOSB""s, in a contaminated staging area to interprocess carriers, such as FOUP""s, within the clean fabrication facility without contamination of the clean fabrication facility.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a system for transporting substrates into a clean room is provided. The system has an isolation chamber located between the clean room and a staging area. A first movable closure is coupled to the staging area side of the isolation chamber and is adapted to open a substrate shipping container. A second movable closure is coupled to the clean room side of the isolation chamber and is adapted to open a interprocess container. A substrate transfer robot is located within the isolation chamber and is adapted to transfer substrates from the substrate shipping container, opened by the first movable closure, to the substrate processing container opened by the second movable closure.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a substrate transport system is provided. The substrate transport system has an isolation chamber. A wall is connected to the isolation chamber for separating a staging area and a clean area. A first substrate container support is coupled to the isolation chamber at a first side of the wall, and is adapted to support a substrate shipping container. A second substrate container support is coupled to the isolation chamber at a second opposite side of the wall, and is adapted to support a substrate interprocess carrier container. A substrate transfer robot is located within the isolation chamber. The substrate transfer robot is adapted to transfer substrates within the isolation chamber from the substrate shipping container to the substrate interprocess carrier container.
In accordance with one method of the present invention, a method of transferring substrates is provided. A substrate shipping container is opened at a first load port. The first load port has a first support located in a staging area. A substrate interprocess carrier container is opened at a second load port. The second load port has a second support located in a clean area. The clean area is isolated from the staging area. Substrates are transferred from the first container to the second container in an isolation chamber between the staging area and the clean area. The interior of the isolation-chamber is isolated from the staging area and the clean area by the substrate shipping container at the first load port and the substrate interprocess container at the second load port at the same time.